Demystifying Mindfulness

[Minnesota Medicine, January 01, 0001] Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an approach to health and wellness that an increasing number of health care providers are practicing and recommending to their patients.

This article describes MBSR, its use in health care, and its benefits for patients with conditions such as anxiety, depression, chronic pain syndromes, and insomnia. It also offers advice about how physicians can incorporate elements of MBSR into their daily practices in order to reduce stress in their lives and prevent burnout.

Psychiatrist Henry Emmons, MD, at the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Abbott Northwestern Hospital is quoted in this article.